Barnaby Rudge.

Barnaby Rudge was the fifth novel from Charles Dickens, first published in 1841. It is the first of Dickens’s two historical novels (the other being A Tale of Two Cities). Barnaby Rudge is largely set around the time of the Gordon Riots of 1780.

Publication.

Barnaby Rudge was original entitled Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty and was published as a weekly serial in Master Humphrey’s Clock, between February 1841 and November 1841. It was partly written whilst Dickens was living at Doughty Street.

Popular Culture.

Barnaby Rudge is one the less popular novels of Charles Dickens and has rarely been adapted for film or television. Silent film versions were released in 1911 and 1915. In 1960, the BBC produced a twelve-episode televised adaptation of the novel starring John Wood as Barnaby Rudge.